The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Royals closer returns from DL
Davis has been out since June 30 with right forearm strain.
The Kansas City Royals reinstated closer Wade Davis from the 15-day disabled list before Saturday night’s game at Detroit.
Davis hasn’t pitched since June 30 because of a strained right forearm. The righthander is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 19 saves in 30 games.
Kansas City also optioned right-hander Brooks Pounders to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.
Davis has been one of the key components to a bullpen that has led the Royals to backto-back American League pennants and a World Series title last season. He went 8-1 with a 0.94 ERA and 17 saves in 2015. The previous year, he was 9-2 with a 1.00 ERA.
Blue Jays: First baseman Justin Smoak agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $8.25 million. The contract announced by the team on Saturday will pay the 29-year-old $4.125 million per season in the first two years of the deal, with a $6 million option in 2019. Smoak, who was batting .234 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs entering Saturday, would have been a free agent after this season in a thin market, but he said he wanted to stay in the American League East.
Astros: Yulieski Gurriel, one of the most sought international free agents, signed a five-year contract.
Gurriel, 32, defected from Cuba in February after competing in the Caribbean World Series in the Dominican Republic. He was declared a free agent last month. Gurriel is primarily a third baseman but also has played second base and shortstop, and was an Olympian in 2004 and 2008.
In 15 seasons in Cuba, he is a .335 hitter with 250 homers and 1,018 RBIs.
Orioles: Outfielder Hyun Soo Kim said his right hamstring has improved enough to the point that he believes he could return to the starting lineup and won’t have to go on the disabled list. Kim, hitting .329, started 31 of Baltimore’s 35 games leading up to the All-Star break.
Dodgers: Chris Taylor, a utility infielder recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on June 25, nearly became the eighth player in franchise history to hit for the cycle, during Friday night’s 13-7 victory over Arizona. Taylor tripled in the fourth, doubled in the fifth and hit a grand slam in the sixth, his first career home run. He was out on a bunt in the eighth.
Just two Dodgers have hit for the cycle since the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958: Wes Parker in 1970 and Orlando Hudson in 2009.
Giants: Outfielder Hunter Pence, on the DL with a strained right hamstring, began a rehab assignment Friday night with Triple-A Sacramento. Manager Bruce Bochy said he’d like Pence to get at least 30 at-bats before rejoining the active roster.
Braves: Struggling closer Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. Vizcaino left Friday night’s 11-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies after throwing three pitches in the ninth. It was his first appearance since he missed four straight games with an elbow infection.
Marlins: After his pinchhit single Friday night against the Cardinals, 42-year-old Ichiro Suzuki entered Saturday nine hits short of 3,000 for his career.